Judith Leiber, the Fabergé of handbags, has died:

“You have to have a sense of humor,” said Judith Leiber. For the handbag designer, who passed away over the weekend at the age of 97, humor was undoubtedly a guiding principle. It’s impossible to think of her jeweled minaudières without a smile. Favored by the fashionable and the famous—Pat Buckley, Björk, and more—her whimsical designs often took on weird and wonderful shapes (a bunch of asparagus, a Hello Kitty head, say). Leiber also famously presented First Ladies Barbara Bush and Hillary Clinton with bags in the form of their First Pets, Millie and Socks. Though amusing, they were anything but cute—these expensive and collectible bags were mini made-in-the-U.S.A marvels. Each one required weeks of handwork and thousands of crystals. Pleasing to the eyes, they were also functional. “I like to do things that look crazy yet are practical,” the designer told Vogue. “My ma...